Page 18 of The Red Moon

“He killed her. He killed her,” she says, and almost chants, each time bringing her knees closer to her chest.

Fuck. I can’t believe I’m going to do this.

I march forward, letting the crowd part.

“Veronica,” I say, kneeling and brushing the loose strands from her forehead. “We need to go.”

She finally peers at me, her eyes wide and frantic. “He’s going to kill us,” Veronica whispers, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “He’s going to kill us all …”

“If you don’t come with me right now,” I say, surveying the hateful glances in my direction. “I promise you he will.”

She looks at the open door, then me, and back to our one shot at escape. A simple nod from Veronica is all I need before I hook our arms and bring her to her feet. Together, we move forward, ignoring the stares or muttered curses from those behind us. Turning back at the threshold, I wait for someone, anyone to follow. No one does.

“To the left,” I say to Sergei with an affirming nod, and drag Veronica toward the staircase without looking back. We make the climb and pass through the study unnoticed, save for the portraits keeping a keen eye on us the entire way. All except his. Nikolai’s portrait is no longer intact but the victim of large claw marks slashing the entire length of his face, leaving ribbons of his likeness in some expensive frame.

“Where—where do we go now?” Veronica stammers.

I hold a finger to my lips and whisper, “Can you walk?”

She opens her mouth and closes it just as quick. Veronica nods instead, realization dawning on her face. I tilt my head toward the front double doors, and Veronica, although hesitant, follows.

Fire is the first thing I see when we emerge outside. Tall flames claiming the sky and highlighting the perimeter forest a beautiful shade of orange. Gunfire silences everything, and even the thoughts in my own head become nothing more than static. Veronica tugs on my sleeve from behind, trying to steer me left like we both planned, but something in the distance gives me pause. It’s Viktor. Part of him anyway. He’s shed his human form, and the wolf thirty feet from me stands to its full, horrifying stature. Dark tufts of black fur dance as he stomps forward, trembling the ground with each vicious step. Two sharp ears sit perked at the top of the beast’s head, both trained on the noise in front of it. I can’t move. Not when I see what has this monstrosity’s attention.

Three shots ring out from the distance, each muzzle burst flashing bright yellow. Dimitri. He doesn’t know. I try and scream his name as Viktor stalks forward, even going on all fours and gaining momentum. Dirt kicks up and mists the air as he dashes more violently. Dimitri still has no clue. I watch helplessly as he readies his rifle and lines up the sights, oblivious to the otherworldly thing prowling toward him at a breakneck speed.

“Natalie,” Veronica says, demanding my attention and nudging me forward. “We need to go!”

I can’t. Not when it feels like my shoes are filled with concrete, watching the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen bolt toward Dimitri in a murderous gait. The distance between them closes rapidly, Viktor becoming a freight train on a collision course. Dimitri fires a few more rounds, still unaware of the monster flanking him from his right.

Thirty feet.

My stomach knots.

Twenty.

Vomit heaves up my throat, drowning any of the words forming on my tongue.

Ten.

I want to close my eyes but I can’t bring myself to. Not now.

Viktor lunges forward for the kill, claws outstretched and ready to rip through him, but the big beast is knocked off target. It’s fast. Too quick for my eyes to process. Viktor’s large body hurls to the side, setting another wave of tremors to plague the compound. The giant wolf tumbles in the dirt until he rolls to a stop. Then, he snarls with pure malice.

A silhouette stands between them, its hind legs rising so the creature can reach its full height. Thick brown fur lifts at the back of its neck. Both eyes are as black as the forest bordering the property except for a familiar gold ring at the edge of each pupil. Blood stains its calf, but the wolf doesn’t seem bothered by it. No, it takes one menacing step forward and howls at Viktor.

“Nik …”

TWELVE

NIK

Our leg isn’t healed. We won’t be able to match his speed, my wolf says, his voice louder and more grave than it’s ever been. The wound sends sharp bursts of pain from my calf to my thigh, and putting weight on it proves impossible. How can I stop Viktor with one fucking leg?

We can’t. But we might be able to slow him down.

Turning my head, I give Dimitri a challenging huff, hot breath clouding the cold air in front of me. Despite the beast I’ve become, he seems to understand exactly what I’m thinking. Get out of here. Saving Natalia is the most important thing right now, but I won’t let him die in the process, tonight or any other. He’s done his part, now, it’s time I do mine.

I turn back to face my brother and match his glare. We both snarl in warning, our chests rumbling like truck engines. The sound, while absent words, says more than he’s ever cared to admit our whole lives. There’s hatred in his eyes. An animosity that’s festered for years, and the monster in front of me only seems to feed on it. My little brother is gone, and this thing gnashing its teeth in my direction needs to be put down.